Identify of the Servant in Isaiah 53

The Role of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 – Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman primarily
(keep in mind, Jesus being and fulfilling Isaiah 53 doesn’t genuinely have a contradiction on Islam if we view it more past it)
The Hebrew Bible’s Isaiah 52:13-53:12 section, which Christians also refer to as the Old Testament, describes the servant of the Lord’s suffering and eventual vindication. This passage has been interpreted in a variety of ways throughout history. Christians, who have interpreted it as a prophecy of Jesus’ death and resurrection, have held particular significance. However, it is essential to keep in mind that this interpretation is not always supported by the passage’s original context.

The suffering servant is depicted in the passage as being despised and rejected before ultimately being elevated and exalted. It is said that this servant bears the sins of many people and prays for them. The passage has been interpreted as a foretold account of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection by some Christian interpreters who have identified this servant as Jesus.

However, this interpretation should be questioned for a number of reasons. First, the servant is not specifically identified as the messiah and neither is the word “messiah” mentioned in the passage. Besides, the worker is depicted as being dismissed and disdained, which doesn’t be guaranteed to fit with the conventional Christian comprehension of Jesus as a heavenly figure who was generally venerated and regarded. Lastly, the passage’s context is about Israel’s restoration and vindication, so it’s unclear if the suffering servant was originally meant to be understood as an individual rather than as a collective figure representing Israel.

In general, it would appear that the interpretation of Isaiah 52:13–53:12 as a prophecy of Jesus’ death and resurrection is a later development that may not be supported by the passage’s original context. Even though this interpretation has had an impact on a lot of Christians, the true meaning of the passage must be understood by looking at the historical and literary context in which it was written.

It is essential to keep in mind that this interpretation is not always supported by the passage’s original context. There is no evidence that Jews prior to Christianity ever interpreted the passage as referring to the messiah, and neither does the passage use the term “messiah” nor explicitly indicate that it is discussing a messiah. The concept of the messiah was not associated with suffering or death in traditional Judaism; rather, it was associated with a future figure of power and grandeur who would free Israel from its oppressors and exercise power and justice.

Christians developed the notion that the messiah had to suffer and die for others based on two facts about Jesus: that he was crucified and that he was the messiah. They came to the conclusion that the messiah had to suffer and die based on these two facts. This idea, on the other hand, did not exist in traditional Judaism, and the original author of the Isaiah passage probably did not intend for it to be interpreted in this manner.

In conclusion, the interpretation of Isaiah 52:13–53:12 as a prophecy about Jesus’ death and resurrection is a later development that is not always supported by the passage’s original context. Even though this interpretation has had an impact on a lot of Christians, the true meaning of the passage must be understood by looking at the historical and literary context in which it was written.
Even genuinely, the idea of a messiah was never in place in the Isaiah passage, and no proof is of it in early traditional Jewish texts. The idea of the messiah was completely different.

Christians have come to consider this passage to be a messianic prophecy for a number of reasons, one of which is that they were looking for biblical evidence to support their belief that Jesus was the messiah, and this passage seemed like an obvious choice. They understood the passage to be foretelling Jesus’ death and resurrection because they saw the suffering servant as a metaphor for Jesus. However, this interpretation should be questioned for a number of reasons.

The historical setting in which the passage was written must first be considered. After the Babylonian army had destroyed Jerusalem and taken many Jews captive in Babylon, the passage was written. The passage uses the servant as a metaphor for the group of people who were serving God’s purposes through their suffering because the prophet was writing to give these suffering exiles hope. The Hebrew Bible frequently uses individual figures to represent groups of people, but some readers have interpreted the servant as a single person. In addition, the passage refers to the servant’s suffering as occurring in the past and his vindication as occurring in the future. This suggests that the servant is a metaphor for a group of individuals who have already endured hardship but will ultimately be rewarded.

Also, Nations are named after people, so it’s according that the southern nation after the civil war dividing Israel is named “Judah,” after one of the sons of Jacob; it is obviously a section but it is named after a specific person. Same with “Gog and Magog” in Ezekiel 38-39 and the fierce “beasts” that Daniel spots as ruling and authorizing the earth in Daniel 7, they are each labeled as an individual animal, but it collectively shows a full national group.

It is evident from the context that the servant of the Lord is meant to represent the nation of Israel because the passage is part of a larger section of Isaiah that describes the suffering and ultimate vindication of the servant of the Lord.

In Isaiah 49:3, where God addresses the servant and declares, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified,” the idea that the servant represents the nation of Israel is made clear. This interpretation is supported by the passage’s description of the servant’s suffering as a past event and his vindication as a future event. This suggests that the servant is a metaphor for a group of individuals who have already endured hardship but will ultimately be rewarded.

However, it’s possible that some Jewish apocalyptic thinkers and later readers of the passage misunderstood it to mean an individual rather than the nation. The belief that evil forces were aligned against God and were causing suffering for those who attempted to follow his laws may have influenced these readers. They might have interpreted the passage as a promise that God would eventually raise those who had suffered for him, individually and collectively, from the dead.

Overall, it appears that the interpretation of Isaiah 52:13–53:12 as a prophecy of Jesus’ death and resurrection is an afterthought that may not be supported by the passage’s original context. Even though this interpretation has had an impact on a lot of Christians, the true meaning of the passage must be understood by looking at the historical and literary context in which it was written.

For more:
The book of Second Isaiah itself indicates who the Servant of the Lord is. It is Israel, God’s people. In Isaiah 53, when the author describes the servant’s past sufferings, he is talking about the sufferings they have experienced by being destroyed by the Babylonians. This is a suffering that has come about because of sins. But the suffering will be vindicated, because God will now restore Israel and bring them back to the land and enter into a new relationship with them.

It may be fairly objected that the Servant is said to suffer for “our” sins, not “his” sins. Scholars have resolved that problem in a number of ways. It may be that the author is thinking that the portion of the people taken into exile have suffered for the sins of those in the land – some of them suffering for the sins of all. Those who have been taken into captivity have suffered displacement, loss, and exile for the sake of everyone else. But now the servant – Israel – will be exalted and restored to a close relationship with God – and be used by him to bring about justice throughout the earth.

There may be problems with this interpretation – as there always are with every interpretation! – but the facts remain that the suffering servant is never described as the messiah, his suffering is portrayed as past instead of future, and he is explicitly identified on several occasions as “Israel.”
https://www.learnreligions.com/isaiah-53-interpretations-4175126

More Interpretations :mod:
There were those who believed in a heavenly messiah known as the Son of Man who would sit on a heavenly throne and decide between the righteous and the wicked (the Book of Parables, written in the late first century BCE or early first century CE). Other ideas included a priestly messiah (like at Qumran in 1QS 9:11, 4QFlorilegium, 4Q521, 11QMelch). Additionally, there were eschatological agents whose roles were comparable to those of the messiah but for whom this term was not specifically used. Therefore, Leviticus 18:1–14 talk about a new priest who will be raised up at the time of the end and will be very similar to the priestly messiah from Qumran. This new priest will bring about peace and justice and open the gates of paradise. The idea of the messiah in the Book of Parables is also very relevant to the idea of the parousia in the New Testament, where Jesus comes back as a judge (as the Son of Man, cf. Matthew 10:23, 13:41, 16:27-28, 19:28, 24:30, 25:31-33, Mark 8:38, 13:26, and 14:62) to end the world system as it is now and reward the righteous and the wicked according to their actions. The “one like a son of man” figure from Daniel 7 who is given sovereignty over the world is exegetical in both the Book of Parables and the New Testament; The first group links this figure to Enoch, a man who was raised to heaven, while the second group links him to Jesus, another man who was raised to heaven. Therefore, Christians continued to anticipate that Jesus would carry out these acts, even though they were still far off. The belief that Jesus was alive and currently in heaven was consistent with the interpretation that Daniel 7 referred to the exalted Jesus. Since this person is depicted in heavenly language in Daniel 7 (“coming with the clouds of heaven”).
Although Isaiah’s Suffering Servant figure was not used in the same way as it is in the NT, there are numerous clear precursors. Daniel is where the most significant application can be found. According to H. L. Ginsburg’s article in VT, 1953, Daniel 12:3 is the oldest known interpretation of the Fourth Servant Song of Deutero-Isaiah. It applies the servant collectively to the faithful Jews who endured Antiochus Epiphanes’ horrific persecution ( “the wise, cf. “They will shine like the brightness of the firmament, like the stars forever and ever,” says the verse (Isaiah 53:11, exegetical basis: “they will shine like the brightness of the firmament, like the stars”) whose suffering had expiatory value for the many. This is based on Isaiah 52:13, which says that the servant “will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” because he is “wise” (the same root as Daniel). Furthermore, ch. The Hebrew apocalypse, Daniel 8–12, interprets the earlier vision in chapter. 7 and the phrase “wise” in Ch. 11 to 12 are analogous to “the holy people of the Most High,” who were killed and persecuted by the “little horn” (7:21, 25), but ultimately seized the kingdom and received “the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven” (7:22, 27), which is identical to what was given to the “one like a son of man” in 7:14 (suggesting that the “one like a son of man” and the “holy people The “wise” receive their inheritance following their heavenly (or heaven-like) glorification (12:13), which appears to refer to the kingdom that the “holy people of the Most High” receive in chapter 7.
Similar interpretations of the Suffering Servant hymn can be found in Qumran literature, possibly related to the Teacher of Righteousness, the Qumran sect’s founder. The fact that the speaker of the Self-Glorification Hymn (4Q471b, 4Q491c) both identifies with the Suffering Servant (“Who has been despised like me? Who, like me, bears all sorrow? And who suffers evil as much as I do?” and describes one’s ascension to heaven (“My glory is incomparable, and besides me, no one is exalted, nor comes to me, for I reside in the heavens, and I am counted among the gods, and my dwelling is in the holy congregation”) “The Self-Glorification Hymn from Qumran,” by John J. Collins, in “Crossing Boundaries in Early Judaism and Christianity; Brill, 2016). “For I have been rejected by them, and they do not esteem me (), when you made yourself great through me…Your rebuke has been changed into happiness and joy for me, my diseases into everlasting healing (), and the scoffing of my rival into a crown of glory for me” appears to be a reference to both Isaiah 52-53 and the Self-Glorification Hymn. cf. 53:3–5 Isaiah). Even though the Teacher of Righteousness played an eschatological role in opening the eyes of the faithful in the last generations (see CD-A 1:3–13), there is no evidence that he was a messiah.
The Suffering Servant song is used in another eschatological text in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Even though the passage is only fragmentary, it does mention wars and a defiling of the Temple, just like Daniel did, as well as those who “walked with the language of truth” being persecuted by “those with misguided spirit” and “and they expiated () their iniquities () through [their] sufferings ()” (4Q183 1 II 7-8; cf. Isa. 53:4, 11, and 12). Martin Hengel’s “The Effective History of Isaiah 53 in the Pre-Christian Period” (in The Suffering Servant:) provides additional information regarding the exegesis of Isaiah 53. Jewish and Christian sources of Isaiah 53; Eerdmans, 2004) In light of this, if Jesus’ followers believed that he died innocently and as a martyr, applying Isaiah 53 to him would have been quite natural. In the hope of an apocalypse, there were also several other notable figures of suffering. “After the third day he will rise again and be taken into heaven while all look and marvel,” according to the Hystaspes Oracles, who predicted that the Syrian king would kill a great prophet and leave him unburied. Aune, David (WBC, Vol. 2) regards this passage as a potential source for the two witnesses in Revelation 11’s pericope. The end-times priest Taxo, who is described as sinless in the Assumption of Moses, dies during the great tribulation in order to remain steadfast to God (9:6-7), and then God’s kingdom appears and a messenger “will be in heaven” whose hands would be filled with executing judgment on the enemies of Israel (10:1-2). This pseudepigraphon is quoted in Jude 9.
“Israel will mount the neck and wings of an eagle and they will be filled and God will exalt you and make you live in the heaven of the stars, the place of his habitation, and you will look down from above, and you will see your enemies on the earth,” says Johannes Tromp in his commentary (Brill, 1993). This messenger is probably Taxo glorified to heaven (similar to Daniel’s “one like a son of man”).

The focus in chapters 40–55 is on the future remnant in Babylonian captivity. The servant of the Lord is “a dominant, recurring theme” in this section.31 Who was this “servant”? The servant is explicitly identified nine times throughout the section:

1. “And you, O Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen” (Isa 41:8a)
2. “You [O Israel] . . . ‘You are My servant.’” (from Isa 41:9)
3. “Now listen, O Jacob My servant, O Israel whom I have chosen!” (Isa 44:1)
4. “Do not fear, My servant Jacob, Israel whom I have chosen!’” (Isa 44:2b)
5. “Remember these things, Jacob, even Israel, for you are My servant;” (Isa 44:21a)
6. “I formed you so that you would be a servant to Me. O Israel” (from Isa 44:21)
7. “I did this for the sake of My servant Jacob, Israel My chosen one.” (Isa 45:4a)
8. “‘Adonai redeemed His servant Jacob!’” (Isa 48:20b)
9. “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, Israel’” (Isa 49:3a)

Clearly, the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 40–55 was meant to be identified as Israel. The singular “Israel” in view here is not an individual but a group comprising all of God’s people. The positive promises about the servant provided a picture of what the ideal remnant in exile would be and do. (As such, the positive depiction of the servant was both a depiction of what the Messiah would be and do and also of what the messianic community would be and do as they followed the Messiah.) As the section (Isa 40–55) progresses, the focus shifts from the failures of “servant” Israel to the ideal servant.

It is to be remembered that the prophets of the Hebrew Bible are not predicting things that are to happen hundreds of years in advance; they are speaking to their own contexts and delivering a message for their own people to hear, about their own immediate futures; In this case, the author is not predicting that someone will suffer in the future for other people’s sins at all. Many readers fail to consider the verb tenses in these passages. They do not indicate that someone will come along at a later time and suffer in the future. They are talking about past suffering. The Servant has already suffered – although he “will be” vindicated. And so this not about a future suffering messiah. In fact, it is not about the messiah at all. This is a point frequently overlooked in discussions of the passage. If you will look, you will notice that the term messiah never occurs in the passage. This is not predicting what the messiah will be. If the passage is not referring to the messiah, and is not referring to someone in the future who is going to suffer – who is it talking about? Here there really should be very little ambiguity. As I mentioned, this particular passage – Isaiah 53 – is one of four servant songs of Second Isaiah. And so the question is, who does Second Isaiah himself indicate that the servant is? A careful reading of the passages makes the identification quite clear: “But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen” (44:1); “Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant” (44:21); “And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (49:3).”